Talent

*Post was written during my prior employment with McGraw-Hill Higher Education, and prior to accepting my position as CEO of MV Transportation. The opinions within the article are my own, and are not a reflection of McGraw-Hill in it’s current form.
The transformational leadership challenge (part THREE in a four part blog series): Disrupt and transform an old economy print textbook business into a personalized learning, educational technology and services ...

*Post was written during my prior employment with McGraw-Hill Higher Education, and prior to accepting my position as CEO of MV Transportation. The opinions within the article are my own, and are not a reflection of McGraw-Hill in it’s current form.
THE CHALLENGE
Re-invent an old economy print textbook publisher and build it into a high growth personalized learning, educational technology and services powerhouse.
In the first part of this four part ...

*Post was written during my prior employment with McGraw-Hill Higher Education, and prior to accepting my position as CEO of MV Transportation. The opinions within the article are my own, and are not a reflection of McGraw-Hill in it’s current form.
THE CHALLENGE
Re-invent an old economy print textbook publisher and build it into a high growth personalized learning, educational technology and services powerhouse.
CONTEXT
Every business and industry in the world is ...

My wife always tells me that I “love to hire the crazies.”
Yes. I do. They change the world.
There has never been a more exciting time to compete and to do business in our world than today—opportunities, new technologies, competitors, and threats are everywhere!
Therefore. Disruption! It’s impossible to create disruptive advantage without hiring disruptive talent.

Who doesn’t want to get off to a great (not a good, but a great!!) start with the new boss? Following these ten rules will help you get off to a winning start with the new leader.
If these rules help you, pay it forward.
Rule #1: Don’t Create Stories—Creating stories in your head about what kind of person the new boss is or will be is a dangerous waste of ...

This evening I can be found at Illinois State University doing one of my favorite things in the world, which is to exchange ideas about leadership, innovation, and the future (their futures!) with great students. With top, driven students, the discussion inevitably turns to a question and answer session around two things—what top employers want and how to go after and win the big job.
You are what your record says ...

If you’re working for the right leadership team and enterprise, few things should be more exciting to the leaders than giving big raises to top people. It’s exciting and it’s fun!
Here are two can’t-miss steps:
Step 1
“Lights-Out” Consistent Performance – Build a track record of excellence and winning that is second-to-none. Candidly, meeting your goals is an expectation of your employment. It’s in many ways…average. The objective is to ...

If you are not having breakfast, lunch, or dinner with your top talent (regularly) I can assure you that someone else is. The success of your enterprise depends upon it.
Seriously.
I have found that there are two unbeatable ingredients for building and retaining top talent. The first is winning together, along with all of the trials and tribulations in between. The second is breaking bread together.
In the end, the success of ...

It’s a hard truth. When great people leave, it’s due to their boss, and not their company. The idea was first introduced to me in 1999 through the book “First Break All The Rules.” Since then, I have had the good fortune to build and to lead top performing teams and companies, interviewing and hiring thousands along the way.

Two years ago, I had the occasion to have lunch with one of the world’s most celebrated CEO’s and his wife, a substantial executive, author, and marketer in her own right. During the course of the conversation, she asked me about my strategy for using Twitter.
“I plan to open an account next week.” I said
“Oh.” She politely replied and then elegantly changed the subject.
Oh.
At the time I was the Senior ...